Flood-gate



(No Modem E. G. IVEY 8v M. MGMIOHAEL.

FLOOD GATE. No. 439,517. Patented Oct. 28i 1890.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELI G. IVEY AND MORGAN MCMIOHAEL, OF BUENA VISTA, GEORGIA.

FLOOD-GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 439,517, dated October 28, 1890.

Application filed July 18,1890. Serial No. 359,137. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ELI G. IVEY and MOR- GAN MCMICHAEL, of Buena Vista, in the county of Marion and State of Georgia, have invented a new and useful Flood-Gate, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

Thisinvention relates to an improved means for automatically controlling the height of water in a dam, and has for its objects to provide a simple, inexpensive device which can be applied to any dam located in a waterway and that will automatically graduate water-discharge from the dam, so as to maintain the water at a desired level and avoid an injurious overflow.

To these ends our invention consists in certain features of construction and combination of parts, as herein described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the gures.

Figure l is a sectional side elevation of a dam having the improvement combined with it. Fig. 2 is a front view of the dam and flood-gate attachment, and Fig. 3 is a plan view of the device in position in a dam.

Arepresents the breast of a dam constructed across a stream or water-course to secure a proper head of water for use as a source of power. The height of the breast-wall A is such as will afford a proper retention of water within the dam for the driving of mechanism in the usual manner by means of waterwheels. (Not shown.) In the breast A of the dam suitable sluiceways are cut-one or more in number. Two of these sluiceways or waterfdischarge passages are shown at B, and at their sides guideways a are erected and firmly connected with the breast A of the dam.

The gates C are adapted to slide freely in the guideways u, wherein they are placed, the weight of said gates normally retaining them in place.

At a proper distance from the breast A, and within the dam a frame comprised of two upright posts b, connected by cross-timbers c, (see Fig. 3) are erected, the posts having sufficient height to extend to the surface of the water-line D, which represents the maximum of Water-elevation within the dam.

Upon each gate O an upright arm d is secured, which latter are of such a relative height as to extend above the water-line D and be connected by the levers e with the top side of the float E. The float E, just named, is preferably constructed in cylindrical form, from sheet metal or wood, of sufficient capacity to contain a proper volume of atmospheric air, said float being made air-tight. The le vers e are pivotally attached to the upper ends of the arms d on the gates C, and also are similarly connected to the top ends of the posts d by their opposite ends, the float E being firmly connected to the levers at such a point between their ends as will permit the gates C to remain closed and the iioat E rest on the water when the latter is at a normal elevation or level with the upper edge of the breast A of the dam.

During ordinary conditionsof wat-er fluctuation in the dam the gates C remain closed and the iioat E unmoved until, by reason of flooding of the water-shed that supplies the dam, an abnormal rise of water is occasioned. W'hen there is such an increased volume of water accumulated in the dam as to ow freely over the breast A, the iioat E will be raised by the water and the gates C also.

After the flow of water through the gates C lowers the surface of the dam to an ordinary level, as represented by the line D, the gates will automatically close, so that all danger of injury which might result from a sudden abnormal increase in water-volume will be thus obviated by the operation of the device, which is in effect a water-governor that controls the water-supply within a dam and discharges surplus water accumulations in the same without manual attendance.

Having thus described our invention,what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The combination, with a sluiceway in a dam and a gate that is adapted to slide in the sluiceway, of a horizontal lever connected at its forward or downstream end to the gate, a oat secured to the lever between its ends, the rear end of the lever being pivoted to a suitable support, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with a sluiceway in a Water-dam, a vertically-movable gate in the sluiceway, and an arm secured on the gate, of

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a horizontal lever pivoted tothe gate-arm by arm, vertical posts, to which are pivoted the one end, a vertical support for the other end of other ends of the horizontal levers, anel a holthe lever, and an air-tighthollOW oat secured low air-tight float secured t0 the horizontal to the lever between its ends, Substantially levers between the gates and the posts, sub- 5 as Set forth. stantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with a water-dam, ELI G. IVEY. sluieeWays in the dam, and Vertically-mov- MORGAN MGMlC-HAEL. able gates in the sluieeways, of an upright l/Vtnesses:

arm secured to eaeh gate, a horizontal lever J. J. JONES,

[c for eaeh gate pivoted by one end to the gate- B. S. PARKER. 

